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- 184
Ok, here goes.
Firstly, someone *had* put a coat of varnish or something on it during it's lifetime. a quick soak and a good scrubbing with an ultrasonic toothbrush later, and most of it is gone. Much better.
Secondly, the split tube is a bit of a pain but not a dealbreaker, providing you grip the top of the tube when tightening it.
Finally, the blade locates pretty well, but there is a little movement, so care needs to be taken when locating the head cap and tightening to make sure that the blade is evenly exposed on both sides. I used an AstraSP, as it's the blade I'm most comfortable and familiar with.
So...how does it shave?
Well, it's not for beginners, that's for sure. There is a lot of blade exposure compared with the superspeeds and tech that I have, with quite a shallow angle, and it doesn't mess about. But, I prepped well with a hot shower, lathered well with the Palmolive stick, and was rewarded with one of the closest, most comfortable shaves I've experienced yet. I did a 3-pass, 1 wtg, 1 atg and 1 xtg. I had to be very careful with pressure, but had no irritation issues, no nicks/weepers and pretty much BBS across my whole face.
I'm not sure how it would fare with a cheaper blade (like a Supermax stainless) but I'll try it once the Astra has done it's time and report back. But for me, definitely £6 well spent.
Firstly, someone *had* put a coat of varnish or something on it during it's lifetime. a quick soak and a good scrubbing with an ultrasonic toothbrush later, and most of it is gone. Much better.
Secondly, the split tube is a bit of a pain but not a dealbreaker, providing you grip the top of the tube when tightening it.
Finally, the blade locates pretty well, but there is a little movement, so care needs to be taken when locating the head cap and tightening to make sure that the blade is evenly exposed on both sides. I used an AstraSP, as it's the blade I'm most comfortable and familiar with.
So...how does it shave?
Well, it's not for beginners, that's for sure. There is a lot of blade exposure compared with the superspeeds and tech that I have, with quite a shallow angle, and it doesn't mess about. But, I prepped well with a hot shower, lathered well with the Palmolive stick, and was rewarded with one of the closest, most comfortable shaves I've experienced yet. I did a 3-pass, 1 wtg, 1 atg and 1 xtg. I had to be very careful with pressure, but had no irritation issues, no nicks/weepers and pretty much BBS across my whole face.
I'm not sure how it would fare with a cheaper blade (like a Supermax stainless) but I'll try it once the Astra has done it's time and report back. But for me, definitely £6 well spent.
